Chocolate Making 101 Tips

+ There is no one way to make chocolate

Many people have a narrow view or expectations of what dark, milk, and white chocolate should be. But now in the era of the home/small-scale bean-to-bar maker, we've seen a wide range of new approaches, styles, and flavour profiles emerge.

What I offer on this website, in my tutoring, and in my classes are practical ways in which to make chocolate without any nonsense, "hacks", or made-up ideas you find in the bean-to-bar sphere online. There is no one way, and you should look around for other ways in which people make chocolate. Get inspired, and then test it out yourself and see what works for you and your chocolate making goals.

Generally, those who make bean-to-bar chocolate are often about sourcing cacao that expresses flavours that go beyond typical "cocoa/chocolate" flavours. There is joy and excitement in a single-origin dark chocolate with a natural range of flavours such as herbal, woody, fruits, floral that came only from the bean itself and how it was transformed into chocolate.

Having said that, you can make chocolate making whatever you like. Perhaps you are not so much about unique single-origin flavours, and more about fun funky flavoured bars. Perhaps you are about nutrition and want to focus on no or low-sugar and other healthful ingredients. Or perhaps you DO want to make more classic-style flavoured chocolate.

What I encourage is sourcing ethically sourced cocoa beans, supporting good business practises (both with your suppliers and customers), and creating something unique. I love the idea of growing chocolate entrepreneurs who offer alternatives to the multi-national industrial chocolate domain which basically engulfs the industry. Those who wish to start making their own chocolate from scratch should be greatly encouraged! And I'm here to help.

+ Be Patient and realistic

Might not seem like a great tip, but I can't tell you how often people think that they will learn not only to make chocolate but master it within a few weeks or months. Everyone is different - and some seem to find it easier than others. Chocolate is its own niche in the culinary world, and bean-to-bar making is a niche within a niche. It's still relatively new, and even those who make it or are part of the bean-to-bar culture don't fully understand it or are very knowledgeable about it. Much of it is trial and error and there is a great deal of the blind leading the blind. So for you, it's going to take time to sift through to find the information you need, and then time for you to make mistakes and figure things out.

Don't be scared. It's really not that complicated, but everyone comes to this with different expectations. So take time to read, read, read. Taste chocolate from all sorts of makers and origins and styles. Don't jump on the "chocolate award" bandwagon or you will soon be disappointed (and have only a narrow view of what's out there). So take your time, don't be afraid to make mistakes, and also don't be afraid to ask yourself and others questions along the way.

You're not going to be able to make chocolate like your favourite maker if you are not using the exact same source of beans as them. They also may have equipment you don't have, and their own unique methods and touch will be different from yours as well. You may find parallels between your chocolate and others who use the same beans, but oftentimes they won't be exactly the same. Learn to accept that. Accept that chocolate making isn't like making a batch of shortbread cookies. It will take some time, and you can't learn everything you need to learn (including making all the mistakes you need to make) in order to achieve the same level as someone who has been doing it for 5, 10, or 20 years.

+ Don't underestimate refining time

It is true that the longer you refine/grind your beans, the more mute the flavour of them becomes. However, this isn't always the case. In fact, sometimes the best option is a long 3-day refining time both for flavour and texture. It really depends on your cocoa beans. Even beans that are considered fine, with unique aromas can have minor faults such as higher than desirable sourness, astringency, and bitterness, or some strong base flavour that is a bit overpowering. Sometimes these can be fixed, and one of those ways is longer refining times.

I encourage beginners and those with a new source of beans to not be afraid to extend the refining time. When testing a new batch, remove a spoonful of chocolate or two every 12 hours or so. Then go back and taste the chocolate at the various refining times and see which one works best for you.

+ Taste other brands of chocolate

If you never ate bread, how would you know what it should taste and look like. Bean-to-bar chocolate is very different from the chocolate you grew up on. So before spending all this money securing beans you were told were "the best", take months to discover all sorts of chocolates out there. Start to look for patterns. See which origins resonate with you, or which flavour profiles appeal to you most. Learn to taste what is out there.

Many chefs grow out from within cultures that they grew up in. They learned to have a palate for the dishes they create as it was all around them growing up. In the same way, learn to get an idea of what chocolates exist out there (origins, styles, flavour combinations) and analyze them. Ask yourself what you like/do not like and even WHY you like/do not like them. The more you analyze, the more confident you will be in making future decisions whether it is the beans you choose or the ingredients you add.

+ Batch size and melanger size matters

You can test a tiny batch in a small drum, and write down your ideal roasting profile, recipe, and melanging time. But when you go to transfer it to a much larger drum, the outcome can be very different. Different equipment and even the size of the equipment can dramatically change the flavour profile of your chocolate. There is different volume to surface ratios and exposure of chocolate to the air, the temperature of the drum changes depending on how full it is or how large it is, all which leads to altering which aromas form/escape in your chocolate. Something to consider and be aware of, and something to realize may be out of your control at times.

+ Don't overthink roasting

Roasting can be very simple and straightforward for certain beans. Sometimes there is no need to test many different roasting profiles. Then you have beans that are tricky to work with. Perhaps have an undesirable amount of astringency or acidity.

A great bean shouldn't require complicated roasting profiles. So as a beginner, focus more on sourcing great beans than having to play around with roasting to improve mediocre or difficult to work with beans.

Once you've selected some great beans, and have had many successful batches, then you can start to tinker and play around with roasting profiles to see what else you can come up with.